Stories from RuNet Echo from February, 2010

Russia and US to Broaden Collaboration Online

  26 February 2010

Vesti.ru wrote [RUS] about the visit of the U.S. “innovation delegation” [EN] led by America's Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra [EN]. The plans of the Russian-U.S. cooperation include launching e-government Web sites and visits of Twitter, Cisco and Mozilla representatives to Russia in June 2010.

Russia: Sakhalin Island Fails to Connect to Broadband

  26 February 2010

Blogger w7062c wrote [RUS] about two unsuccessful attempts to connect Sakhalin island [EN] (island in the Pacific north closer to Japan) to the broadband network of Russia. The third attempt is scheduled for 2011. Until then, 580,000 inhabitants of the island are able to go online via satellite only.

Russia: Government Supports Blogger School

  24 February 2010

Gov-gov.ru blogs [RUS] about a new online initiative: government-sponsored blogger schools that emerge in Tomsk (Siberia) [RUS] and Dagestan [RUS]. The Dagestan region has one of the lowest Internet penetration rates in the country. The schools involve the most popular Kremlin-affiliated bloggers.

Russia: Provider Sued For Not Blocking Web Sites

  24 February 2010

The prosecutor's office of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Siberian region where most of Russia's oil comes from, filed a suit against a local Internet provider that refused to block “extremist” Web site, Regnum reported. However, there's no federal law that requires providers to block the sites.

Russia: “Merry Gnome”

  23 February 2010

IZO links to LJ user postoronniy-cb‘s post (RUS) and writes: “When prez Medvedev visited Omsk recently, a sign advertising a play for children called We Await You, Merry Gnome was removed from his route in great haste at the last moment.”

Russia: “Best of Russia” Photo Exhibition

  23 February 2010

IZO writes about Best Of Russia '09 photography exhibition at Winzavod Contemporary Art Center in Moscow: “The wide range of amateur or semi-pro content and the big turn-out reminded me of what the Royal Academy Summer Show in London used to be, before professional artists squeezed the non-professionals out: a...

Russia: Bloggers Remember Rock Legend

  18 February 2010

In February, Russian bloggers celebrated a sad date. Ilya Kormiltsev, one of Russia’s most talented and controversial poets and songwriters, died of spine cancer three years ago. Kormiltsev’s death became the first and the most publicized death on the Russian Internet.

Russia: Bloggers Discuss Utilization of Old Books

  18 February 2010

Libraries are throwing away old books due to old age and lack of readership, literary critic Alexander Zhitinski reported [RUS]. A library in Saint-Petersburg had to throw away all the books published before 1999. Mistreatment of books provoked a heated  discussion online [RUS] while  mainstream media ignored the subject.

Russia: Avatar & North Caucasus – Fiction vs Reality

  17 February 2010

LJ user burtin posts this comment (RUS) about Avatar: “Interesting that people cry [as they watch] Avatar – while reports from Chechnya and Ingushetia leave them totally indifferent. Even though archetypally the same is happening there – only the people are real, not [computer-generated]. […] If this were happening in...

Russia: When Politicians Go Online

  17 February 2010

When more and more Russian politicians become bloggers and seek the help of PR firms to develop and manage their blogs, people wonder about the future of the Russian blogosphere as an independent information platform and valuable public sphere.

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